Mark Haslett University Librarian January 11, 2005 Library Staff Update Mark Haslett University Librarian January 11, 2005

Questions & discussion What I’ll address Discuss 2 to 3% budget cut Review 6th Decade Planning process Highlight some 2004 achievements Questions & discussion

The budgetary challenge continues…

Budget cuts 2001/02: 3.5% 2002/03: 2% 2003/04: 2% 2004/05: 2% 2001/02: 3.5% 2002/03: 2% 2003/04: 2% 2004/05: 2% 2005/06: 2 to 3%?

Why another cut? Enrolment targets were not met last fall Tuition fees are frozen The University needs to put significant funds into the pension plan An unknown is the Rae commission and what the government will act on.

The Rae Review There needs to be a much greater capacity for collaboration between institutions (Bob Rae) The above theme resonates and rings true in the Library community Libraries are founded on the notion of sharing and making resources readily available

OCUL collaboration “Although each Ontario university is likely to find its own unique solutions to many of the LT [learning technology] issues …, there is surely some benefit to co-operative system-wide ventures. Notable is the work of the Ontario Council of University Libraries with its project … the Ontario Scholar’s Portal”

The budgetary challenge facing us … continues Library budgets split in two Acquisitions (approx. $6,000,000 ) Operating (approx. $7,700,000 ) Salary ($6,938,000) (90%) Non-salary ($768,000) (10%)

Operating budget The current challenge: Addressing a $155,00 - $235,000 ongoing cut beginning in 2005/06 Flexibility on non-salary side is gone Nor is picture good on staffing side We are down 35 FTE since 1994 1994: 168 1997: 144 2004: 133

Implications We will be able to absorb the anticipated cuts in 2005/06 without releasing staff We will fill the currently posted positions of Director, Organizational Services, and Davis ISR Head The posting for Associate University Librarian, Information Management and Systems Services, has been withdrawn However, as noted last year, Everything I have heard suggests that there is consensus that the Library has been ‘very thin at the top’ for quite awhile. The status quo is not good enough

There are some good signs The Library’s continued leadership in the acquisition of electronic scholarly information resources is well received by faculty and students The Provost allocated close to a million dollars in one-time funds for the Library’s purchase of the backfile of Elsevier e-journals Library acquisition expenditures helped launch UW into the #1 spot in the 2004 Maclean’s rankings The Library will continue to receive one-time funding on an ongoing basis We are making effective use of Co-op students and contract positions funded through one time funds

Next steps We have to build bridges to get us to a hopefully better fiscal future Draft budget proposal has been submitted With some imagination and flexibility I am still convinced we can make something positive out of these challenges How we will do so still requires more careful review and discussion There is no silver bullet

6th Decade Plan

6th Decade Plan UW’s 6th decade begins 2007 The development of a Sixth-Decade Plan for UW Senate Long Range Planning Committee (SLRP) “BUILDING ON ACCOMPLISHMENT: A Plan for the University of Waterloo's Fifth Decade” http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infoprov/Planning/final_plan97/f-fulldoc1.html

6th Decade Planning Preparation of planning documents Academic units Academic support units Self-study in each unit identifying Strengths Challenges Opportunities that respond to UW aspirations to achieve academic excellence

Documents to be completed Templates have been provided to: simplify the process provide further guidance allow SLRP to review submissions in a consistent manner

Templates Relevance Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats the support your unit provides to students (undergraduate, graduate, domestic, international), faculty, staff and other units Strengths Staff, Systems (automated, manual, process), working environment/working relationships, leadership Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Excellence Overall If there were to be one or two key changes to allow your unit to be more effective related to the considerations above, what would they be?

Library’s timeline All staff meetings on January 11 SLRP templates mounted on web Library Managers group will develop an initial draft by March 1 Draft distributed to all Library staff for further input Next to last draft submitted to Bruce Mitchell by April 1 for review and input Final report will be submitted to SLRP by April 30, 2005

Memo & templates http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/managers/6thdecade.html

Some notable accomplishments Ever the optimist …

Some notable accomplishments Take pride in your accomplishments and achievements The RBC Information Commons and the significant transformation of the Davis Library have been well received The Musagetes Architecture Library is a source of pride at UW and within the Cambridge community UW is a key player in the OCUL and CRKN partnerships The Library’s continued leadership in the acquisition of electronic scholarly information resources is recognised and well received by faculty and students Library acquisition expenditures helped launch UW into the #1 spot in the 2004 Maclean’s rankings The Library’s resources and services are being well used and are well received

Questions & discussion